The BBC on the Taylor Woolrich story

This past August the CPRC co-sponsored and organized a conference for Students for Concealed Carry.  The first speaker was Taylor Woolrich.  Her story is continuing to make a difference in explaining to people why it is important that stalking victims have the right to be able to defend themselves.  From the BBC:

A former beauty pageant contestant from California, 20-year-old Taylor Woolrich is the first to admit she's not your usual guns rights campaigner. 
She's fighting for the right to carry a weapon on campus, for a very personal reason.
For years she's been stalked by a man she first came into contact with while waitressing at a cafe.
He would turn up to see her every day and began to track her down outside work. An emergency restraining order failed to deter him.
Things became even more terrifying when she moved across the country to study at Dartmouth college in New Hampshire.
"It wasn't even on my mind, and then he contacted me via LinkedIn and used social media to continue to contact me - sent me various very frightening messages, making it very specific he knew where I was," she says.
One summer, when she went home to California, he turned up at her parents' doorstep. She says police found what they call a "rape kit" - rope tied as a slip-noose, gloves, duct-tape, flash light, and a sweatshirt - inside his car.
Taylor's stalker is currently in jail. His sentence will soon be up. . . .

The rest of the piece is available here.

My newest piece in the Daily Caller: “When Security Fails, Gun Rights Are The Last Line Of Defense”

My newest piece at the Daily Caller starts this way:

These days, it isn’t even safe to get a cup of coffee. Australians just learned this the hard way. In the U.S., watching a movie can apparently be too dangerous. At least, terrorist threats by North Korea canceled the showing of “The Interview” in movie theaters. 

With very little money, ISIS has managed to instill fear in countries around the world. Simply by using Internet posts, ISIS has encouraged “lone wolf” terrorists. 

In May, four people were shot dead in an attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. In September, there were beheadings in Oklahoma and London. October proved even worse: a car attack in Quebec, a shooting in Ottawa, a hatchet assault in New York City, and a knife attack that left five dead at an Israeli synagogue. This is but a sample. 

The Canadian government rushed to revamp its security agencies in the wake of the recent attack on Parliament. But lone attackers are unlikely to send incriminating emails that alert law enforcement. What do you do if security fails? How do we protect what seems like an infinite number of possible targets?. 

The attacks in Brussels, Ottawa, and Sydney illustrate the limitations of preventive measures. In each case, the perpetrators had criminal histories that prevented them from legally buying a gun. 

Still, they all managed to obtain firearms. The Brussels killer, Mehdi Nemmouche, even obtained an illegal machine gun. . . .

The rest of the piece is available here.

My newest piece at Fox News: "Expert: Blacks trust police more than whites do"

My newest piece at Fox News starts this way:

Do blacks trust police more than whites do? Given the anger over events in Ferguson and New York City, the very question seems absurd. But it is not. Behind the polls and demonstrations, there is evidence that blacks trust police at least as much as whites do. 

The poll results are hardly surprising. A new Gallup poll confirms blacks place less confidence in police and the criminal justice system. Using survey data from 2006 through 2014, Gallup found: 

-- 31 percentage points more blacks than whites believe black males are more likely to go to prison than white males primarily because of discrimination (50 percent versus 19 percent). 

-- 7 percentage points more blacks believe the honesty and ethics of police are low/very low (17 percent versus 10 percent). 

Similarly, a 2013 Pew Research Centersurvey reveals that 70 percent of blacks believed police treated whites better than blacks. By contrast, only 37 percent of whites agreed. 

But what people say and what they do are often different. And there are both victims and criminals in black communities. 

Victims may trust the police for the same reasons that criminals dislike them. Blacks are not a monolithic group: blacks who who have been through the criminal justice system as criminals could answer these questions quite differently than those who have relied on police as victims. 

The polls don’t distinguish between these two groups. As Charles Barkley recently said: “[Police] are the only thing in the ghetto between this place being the wild, wild west.” 

Most violent crime victims don’t report crimes to police. For example, only about half of rapes are reported to police. That has a lot to do with how victims believe they will be treated by the police. In the case of rape, victims who think that the police are unsympathetic to rape victims or are unlikely to solve the cases are even less likely to report rapes. 

If black victims really believe police are racist, why would they report the crime to the police? Blacks victims don’t want other blacks locked up simply due to their race; they want the criminals who actually committed the crime punished. . . .

The article continues here.

Why isn't Obama imposing sanctions on North Korea for its act of war? Isn't attacking Sony an attack on US territory?

While many in the media is attacking Sony for its "cowardice," can one really expect Sony to stand up to such pressure by itself.  After all, the media with its constant reporting based on this stole information has done huge damage to Sony.  Representative Ed Royce discusses one thing that the Obama administration could do here



Possibly if the Obama administration had come forward sooner, the results from this past week could have been avoided.

But NBC's Pete Williams says: "“I would say the best I can tell from that is that [the Obama administration] haven’t a clue [what to do about North Korea]."

U.S. Appeals Court says that just because you once had a mental illness problem doesn't allow government to ban you for life from owning guns

The risk of violence from people with mental illness is extremely low to begin with, but if the risk is low even when people are suffering a mental illness, why ban them for ever from owning a gun, even after they are cured?  From the Wall Street Journal:

In the first legal ruling of its type, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati on Thursday deemed unconstitutional a federal law that kept a Michigan man who was briefly committed to a mental institution decades ago from owning a gun. 

A three-judge panel of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the federal ban on gun ownership for anyone who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution” violated the Second Amendment rights of Clifford Charles Tyler, a 73-year-old Hillsdale County man. 

“The government’s interest in keeping firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill is not sufficiently related to depriving the mentally healthy, who had a distant episode of commitment, of their constitutional rights,” wrote Judge Danny Boggs, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, for the panel. 

Lucas McCarthy, Mr. Tyler’s lawyer, called the ruling “a forceful decision to protect Second Amendment rights,” and said he hoped it that it would have “a significant impact on the jurisprudence in the area of gun rights.” . . .

14-year-old shoots at two intruders who broke into home, protects ill grandmother

From WSOCTV.com in Charlotte, North Carolina:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the second man involved in a home break-in that turned deadly near the Charlotte/Mint Hill border has been arrested. Another suspected intruder was killed when a 14-year-old inside the house shot and killed him Tuesday night. 

Two intruders, who police identified as 18-year-old Isai Delcid and 22-year-old Carlos Delcid, attempted to break into the home on Rolling Fields Lane just after 5 p.m., according to investigators. Isai was shot and died at the scene while police said Carlos fled. 

Officers arrested Carlos late Tuesday night and charged him with first-degree burglary.
Police said a grandmother was at the home with her grandson at the time. According to officers, the grandson shot and killed Isai. 

The grandfather, George Wyant, told Channel 9 his 14-year-old grandson shot the intruder. 

"It’s not something you can be proud of. But, I’m happy the way it turned out. Because my wife is getting over an illness," Wyant said. "What would have happened if he wasn’t there? That’s all I can tell you. What would have happened?" . . .

Dramatic story where burglary victims catch criminals two days after crime, concealed carry

Two days after their home was robbed, victims of a home break-in catch the alleged burglars and held them at gunpoint until authorities could arrive.  Both the wife and husband of the family that caught the criminals appear to be concealed carry permit holders.  From WBRC Channel 6 TV in Warrior, Alabama:

. . . A home surveillance system captured video of the suspects breaking into the Wyatt family home on Gobbler Knob Road on Friday afternoon. 

The surveillance video shows a woman knocking on the family's home. 

When no one answered, a male accomplice kicked the door open. The woman and two men helped themselves to two TVs and several of the family's Christmas presents, including gifts for their 1-year old-son. 

The three suspects then drove away in a black Ford Ranger pickup truck.Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Wyatts' home around 9:30 p.m. Friday to investigate the burglary. 

Two days later, around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14, deputies investigated a second burglary, this one in the 1600 block of New Bethel School Road. 

The victim said someone forced open the door to his home and stole a computer monitor, trumpet, knife collection and jewelry, according to Chief Deputy Randy Christian. 

While deputies were still on the scene investigating the second burglary, the Wyatts called the sheriff's office to say they had found the suspects who broke into their home and were holding them at gunpoint. . . . 

Fox News has a discussion here.

Why are gun control advocates so excited about Vivek Murthy's confirmation when he promised that he wouldn't push gun control?

Gun control groups are excited about Vivek Murthy's confirmation's, but before his confirmation his supporters were pointing to his promise not "use the Surgeon General's office as a bully pulpit for gun control," and instead would make his top priority "obesity prevention."  So why should the gun control groups be so excited? Was it because he didn't mean his promise to the Senate?

Powerful interview of CIA interrogation "architect" where he reacts to Senate interrogation report

The interview with Psychologist James Mitchell is very powerful (it is available here).  Really brings into question the Senate Democrats' report.  Senate Democrats have publicly outed this man and have put his life in danger.  They also refused to talk to Dr. Mitchell or anyone else who was actually involved in these interrogations.  This is only two-thirds of his Mitchell's interview tonight, but it is still very worthwhile.

Homeowner shoots man who broke into home around 8:30 AM

From Jefferson County, Colorado:

. . . . Investigators told 7NEWS the intruder broke into a home on Clear View Drive, near Interstate 70 and Lookout Mountain, around 8:30 a.m. 

There was a confrontation between the man and the homeowner and the homeowner shot and killed the man. 

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said they don't know yet how the intruder got into the home. 

Investigators told 7NEWS they believe this shooting will fall under Colorado's Make My Day law, but they are investigating. Under the statute, any occupant of a dwelling is justified in using any degree of physical force, including deadly force, against another person when that other person had made unlawful entry into the dwelling and occupant feels threatened. Homeowners are immune from criminal prosecution and civil liability for the use of force. . . .

Will Florida pass a law that would allow people with permits to carry a concealed handgun on college campuses?

After a mass public shooting at Florida State University left students defenseless last month, one area state legislator is trying to fix the problem.

. . . The proposal (SB 176), filed Thursday Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker,  is identical to a bill (HB 4005) filed earlier this week by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota. The bill would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns on campus. It comes after an incident last month at Florida State University in which a gunman shot three people at the campus library before he was killed by police. 

The bills will be considered during the 2015 legislative session. 

Steube said he already planned to sponsor the measure before a shooting incident last month at Florida State University —- but that the attack, which left three people injured and the gunman dead, helps to make his point. The bill would apply to people who are licensed to carry concealed weapons. 

“I think it (the attack) brings it closer to home for people who think these events don’t occur in Florida, or that law enforcement can prevent them from happening,” Steube told The News Service of Florida. . . . 

Other relevant past posts
Police rule that student who retrieved his gun from his car at Eastern Florida State College acted in self defense against two attackers

Arizona and Florida considering bill to let law-abiding citizens carry concealed on college campuses

A bill in Texas to prevent students being expelled fro using a Pop Tart as a gun

From the Houston Chronicle:

. . . Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, has filed a bill that would prohibit schools from punishing students who use their hands, playthings and, yes, even pastry items to mimic firearms. The proposed legislation also would protect students through the fifth grade who play with toy guns or draw or possess pictures of guns. 

Guillen said he filed the bill after a second- grader in suburban Maryland was suspended for two days in March 2013 for chewing his Pop- Tart into the shape of a gun. A similar situation has not arisen in Texas. 

"Texas students shouldn't lose instruction time for holding gun-shaped Pop-Tart snacks at school," said Guillen. "This bill will fix this." 

The story of Josh Welch, who finished out the year in his Anne Arundel County school, grabbed national headlines and even netted the now 9-year-old a lifetime membership to the National Rifle Association. His teacher said the suspension followed a history of problematic behavior, but Welch's case became a rallying point for gun rights advocates after his parents said the punishment represented a gross overreaction. . . .